The present embodiments relate to medical diagnostic imaging. In particular, different three-dimensional views (two-dimensional images of different views of a three-dimensional object are shown).
Ultrasound or other medical imaging modalities may be used to scan a patient. For example, echocardiography is a commonly used imaging modality to visualize the structure of the heart with a multi-planar reconstruction (MPR). Because the echo is often a 2D projection of the 3D human heart, standard views are captured to better visualize the cardiac structures. For example, in the apical four-chamber (A4C) view, all four cavities, namely left and right ventricles, and left and right atria, are present. In the apical two-chamber (A2C) view, only the left ventricle and the left atrium are present. Another example is imaging the intracranial structures of a fetus. Three standard planes are acquired with different orientations for visualization of the cerebellum, the cisterna magna, and lateral ventricles.
Ultrasound data may be acquired at a sufficient rate to allow three-dimensional ultrasound imaging in real-time. For example, a combination of one or more MPR's, which show images of specific planes through a 3-dimensional volume and a volume rendering (VR), which shows a 3-dimensional representation of a view of the data from a user-selectable viewing direction, is provided. Non-real-time three-dimensional ultrasound imaging may also be provided. In other examples, VR is provided without MPR.
Different viewing options are available for VR. For example, the VR may be rendered with a viewing direction orthogonal to any of the MPR slices, with a clip plane placed at the location of the MPR slice to remove data in front of the clip plane from the volume rendering. The user studies the VR. The user may switch the viewing direction and clip plane location to create different views that allow diagnosis. To transition between the different views, the VR jumps to a new viewing direction and clip plane location following a new user selection. This jump can be distracting or disorienting to the user. Alternately, the user may use a trackball or other user interface control to incrementally apply rotation to change the clip plane location or viewing direction. User changes that incrementally change the clip plane or viewing direction may lack repeatability, preventing the user from consistently achieving the desired views.